My head hurts.
I�m pretty sure the police chief on the other end of the phone line is the reason for this, so I glare at the phone as I repeat what I�ve been saying the last ten minutes.
Since he missed it the first fifty times.
�Look,� I growl into the receiver, griping the phone so tightly it could shatter at any moment, �as I have already told you--fucking repeatedly, I might add--it. Is. Taken. Care. Of. I know Adel is the fucking apocalypse in a can to you. I know the New Agents of Chaos have managed to elude you no matter what you do--�
�But we�re not the god damn idiots you are. Man, if you want something done, you truly have to do it yourself��
�--but we have both under good as control as we do Arashi, and he hasn�t given you any more problems, now has he?� The chief on the other end grudgingly admits that yes, that is true. He could protest further, but he knows damn well who�s ultimately in charge of his paycheck. �Good, now shut the fuck up and get over it.�
I slam the phone down and chose to bury my face in my hands rather than go out and kill the lot of them. For the love of Leviathan, the law is useless. Also, why did I have to chose the department that deals with idiots? I sometimes wonder what I was on back then to make such a decision, let alone join the company in the first place.
�Where I became nothing but someone else�s toy.
�Deep calming breaths, Dakumi, deep calming breaths�� So the last shred of sanity I have is reminding me, but then the phone rings and I glare at it through the space between my fingers, sanity being drowned out by all the thoughts of violent, painful ways to kill the idiots that plague me.
�Raidien Security Department,� I chirp with convincing cheerfulness as the glare darkens, �Dakumi Yume speaking. How may I kill you today?�
�Daku-chan, you seriously need anger management.�
�Himeko? What do you want?�
�Such a way to talk to your partner�� I can hear the pout in that sentence. �Is Delsus still there by any chance?�
�He left awhile ago. Why?�
�I was just hoping I wouldn�t have to show up without warning.�
�Since when have you cared about warning Delsus when you�re about to stalk him?�
�Oh hush, Daku-chan,� Himeko sighs, �anyway, I�ll quit bothering you now. Go home before he shows up. You�ve been worn down lately, so get some sleep, too.�
�Yes, mother.�
�Don�t you take that tone with me, young man,� she scolds, laughing before saying a quick goodbye and hanging up. I sigh with a slight, amused smile and hang up myself, though no sooner than I do does a hand touch my shoulder. I flinch despite myself, because I know there�s only one person it could be.
�You�re so jumpy,� Ishiro murmurs from behind me, massaging the tensed muscles in my back, �you get so high-strung when you end up staying late.�
�That�s because you�re here, and you know it, damn you. You�re just acting innocent because you think it�s all a game set up for your fucking amusement.�
�I trust you set things straight with the police looking for Adel and the Agents of Chaos in training?�
�Yes,� I reply in a somewhat strained tone, trying to avoid thinking of what will follow this, �I told them we took care of them like we did Arashi; that the situation�s perfectly under control, and they needn�t worry nor be involved unless we tell them otherwise.�
�That�s good. I wouldn�t want anything to happen to my dear son,� I can hear the sarcastic smirk he wears in his voice as he rests his chin on my shoulder, arms falling from my back to my waist, �and as for you, well, you should be rewarded.�
�Don�t even think about it,� I hiss through clenched teeth, not caring that everything�s going to go to hell if I don�t check my temper, �I swear, if you--�
�Are we going to play this game again? You didn�t win the first time,� he says, tone dangerously calm, �and you won�t this time, either.�
�That�s all it�s ever been,� I half-yell, standing abruptly and drawing my gun as I whirl around to glare at him, �just some game for your fucking amusement.�
�So what do you want from me,� Ishiro says with a thoroughly amused smirk, �to care about you?�
�That�s a good one. Sorry, I think you need a heart for that.�
�On the contrary, I don�t want you to care about me. I wish you�d just forget about me and leave me the hell alone. Actually, what I really want is your death, whether it�s by my hand or not.�
�So end it,� he shrugs, stepping out from behind the desk chair and advancing until the barrel of the gun presses against his chest, �pull the trigger and save yourself. You can�t do it, can you?�
�I�d like to think I haven�t sunk to your level yet. In the end I�d like to say I was better than you.�
�Better than me? Have we forgotten dear Natsumi?�
�Shut up! I�m sick of this,� I growl, opting to punch him in the face instead of just shooting him for some reason, �sick of you, and sick of always having to run to Delsus--� I stop myself, but too late. A sadistic smile slowly sinks into his features despite the fact my fist clipped the side of his face and his right eye is already starting to swell shut.
�So that�s it. Delsus is the reason you aren�t broken yet.� He laughs, grabbing my wrists and slamming me back against the wall with an almost inhuman speed I�ll never get used to. �I always did wonder how you could act so well like nothing that occurred between us bothered you. It�s so obvious now.�
I choose not to say anything and instead simply glare death, vehemently cursing the fact my power doesn�t work on him at all. That and the fact I ended up dropping the gun upon being slammed into the wall.
�You poor thing,� he muses, producing a dagger out of nowhere and promptly stabbing it through my shoulder, plus the wall behind it, and looking quite pleased with the resulting cry of pain, �I think I should give you a taste of what�s going to befall Delsus. Just so you have an idea of the suffering you caused him.�
�Leave him out of this,� I order, shutting my eyes tightly in pain when he stabs through my other shoulder, my back arcing slightly, �leave him out of your twisted little games.�
�Honestly, Dakumi, I thought you knew me better than that,� Ishiro replies with sarcastic disappointment, placing a third blade to my cheek and making a slow cut, �it�s no fun letting them get away.� He pauses to examine the dagger with an almost childish curiosity, aqua gaze shifting up to meet mine after a minute or so.
That was about the time I lost all hope.
�How long do you think you can last,� he inquires, smirking again, �how long before you start calling for him to come save you? Begging him to end your suffering for you�Pathetic.�
I can�t tell if my vision is blurred from the tears, or the blood running down from the cut over my right eye, but whichever it is, the cause of both isn�t done with me just yet.
�You�re getting weak by now, aren�t you,� Ishiro half-asks, half-states, turning the blade sideways and slipping the flat edge under my chin before using it to tilt my head up, �poor thing. I�ve only just gotten started.�
�You�ve done enough��
�Enough, you say? I think we have different definitions of �enough.� Besides, I think red suits you well.�
�Please�� I hate having to beg more than anything, but sometimes it actually gets favored results. Generally only�after, but there�s a first time for everything, right? Besides, you know what they say about desperate times and even more desperate measures.
